Criminal tax · 6 March 2026
Penalty reduced from DKK 290,000 to DKK 95,000 in a tax criminal case
The matter was conducted by attorney Hussain Ali Alhaidary. Hussain Ali Alhaidary
We represented a client in a tax criminal case where the fine stood at DKK 290,000. The case arose from the sale of an apartment where the profit had not been declared. After our handling, the fine was set at DKK 95,000, a reduction of approximately DKK 195,000.
We represented a client in a tax criminal case where the fine stood at DKK 290,000.
The case arose from the sale of an apartment where the profit had not been declared. The central question was therefore whether the client had acted with intent, or whether there had been a misunderstanding of the rules.
After our handling of the case, the fine was set at DKK 95,000, a reduction of approximately DKK 195,000.
Misunderstanding of the owner-occupier rule
The case concerned the rules for tax-free sale of a home under the so-called owner-occupier rule.
The client had understood the rules to mean that a sale could be tax-free if the home had been occupied by persons whom the client considered to be part of the household, including adult children living away from home who were still financially supported.
It was this understanding that led to the profit from the sale not being declared.
We argued that the matter was not an expression of a deliberate wish to evade tax, but rather of a specific misunderstanding of the rules.
Gross negligence, not intent
The Tax Agency agreed that the client's conduct should be assessed as gross negligence and not as intent.
This had a significant impact on the determination of the penalty.
We also documented a number of other mitigating circumstances, which were included in the overall assessment of the fine.
The result was that the fine was reduced from DKK 290,000 to DKK 95,000.
The owner-occupier rule can give rise to difficult assessments
The rules on tax-free sale of a home may seem straightforward, but in practice difficult questions can arise about, among other things, actual occupation, household, period of ownership and use of the home.
In tax criminal cases, it is not only decisive whether the tax has objectively been calculated incorrectly. It must also be assessed how the error arose, and whether the person concerned acted with intent or negligence.
That distinction can have a major impact on both the size of the fine and the overall criminal liability.
Are you involved in a tax criminal case?
We assist in cases concerning, among other things, property gains, the owner-occupier rule, tax evasion, fine cases and liability cases before the Tax Agency's Criminal Case Unit.
If you have received a notice of a liability case or a proposed fine from the Tax Agency, you are welcome to contact us for a confidential and non-binding assessment of the case.
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